Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Living Long & Healthy Lives

With all the struggles, trials, and tribulations we each go through in the span of our lives - here are some clues to health and longevity - the following are excerpts from an article published by CNN.COM:...he took up running to overcome his grief after the death of his wife and a son. He ran his first marathon at age 89. The key to life: "Laughter and happiness," he says. "That's your remedy for everything."...Her advice for a long life? Avoid smoking, drinking and vegetables. She was also an optimist: "Every year brings something new. I've always been content with what I have."...worked out at daily a local track. Healthy most of her life, she said exercise and an optimistic attitude helped. attributed his long life to light eating, not smoking and work in the sunshine. After his postal career, he worked on a farm. ..."I am always looking up towards the sky; that is how I am."...She said she ate more than two pounds of chocolate a week and only quit smoking at age 120, not for health reasons, but because she could not see well enough to light her cigarettes. She credited her longevity to port wine, her sense of humor and a diet rich in olive oil. ...The secret to her long life, she said, was being cheerful. "I've always been a happy person, a giggling person, a wide-mouthed person." She also kept fit -- dancing the electric slide until age 103....She kept in shape throughout much of her life. At 102, she said she did leg squats to keep healthy. He credited cold showers with his longevity.

Dr. Ronald D. Adelman, who works with many of these old-old people as the medical director of Cornell's Wright Center on Aging, said that the study is an important tool to understand a population that's often overlooked.

"When it comes to the elderly there are really three groups we look at," explained Adelman. "Those who are considered old, who are 65 to 74 years of age; the older, between ages 75 to 84; and the old-old, which are those people over the age of 85.

"But when you look at centenarians, that really is an expanding group, and the important thing is to get their advance directives, to make sure these people express how they want to be treated in their later years, so they can live a better quality of life and be more comfortable. Where do they want to live, how do they want to live and what's best for them?"

Because of advances made in medical technology, and the fact many people entering their golden years are more health-conscious than ever before, Adelman says it's time society takes the elderly, including centenarians, seriously because this older age group will continue to grow and need care.

"To be honest, 65 is no longer old," noted Adelman. "Ten thousand Americans are turning 65 every day. There are 77 million baby boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964. They are more educated, they have the best health literacy than prior generations, they exercise, they eat right and they are living longer, healthier lives.

"We need to be able to provide them the best care and services possible, as they age into their 80s, 90s and beyond."

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